The invention relates to an antenna arrangement for transmitting signals, consisting of a plurality of antennas, which are arranged in a plane spaced from a chip surface.
Antennas are required for emitting and receiving electromagnetic waves, for example, in the field of wireless communication. This technical arrangement as an antenna arranged on the sender side converts conducted electromagnetic waves into so-called free-space waves, which propagate as electromagnetic waves from the antenna into space.
On the receiver side, the antenna converts the electromagnetic waves arriving as a free-space wave back into conducted electromagnetic waves; the antenna therefore is a converter between conducted and free-space waves and vice versa. The matching of the wave impedance of the line to the wave impedance of the free space is essential for this.
In modern devices within the field of communication technology, there is the need to connect antennas having small or the smallest dimensions to the semiconductor chips provided for signal processing or to components of the semiconductor chip, to assure the functionality thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,221,052 B2 discloses an antenna connected to a semiconductor chip, the antenna being formed on the upper surface of the semiconductor chip.
This solution has the disadvantage that it is part of the chip itself. As a result, use with different chips is possible only to a limited extent, because the designing of the antenna structure must be carried out during the designing of the chip.
U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 2009/0207090 discloses an antenna arrangement, arranged on the top surface of a semiconductor chip and consisting of four antennas having the same structure. This arrangement improves the potential applications, because it is independent of the chip and therefore can be used for a plurality of different chips. The disadvantages of said arrangement are that the chips are in the same location as the antenna elements. This results in an increase in the area required on a circuit board by the entire structural part, consisting of an antenna, chip, and housing. Another disadvantage of said arrangement is that the chips affect the radiation pattern of the antennas and the radiated power has an effect on the chip.
The object of the invention therefore is to provide an antenna arrangement for transmitting signals, said arrangement having improved directional characteristics and a higher antenna gain, is simple to produce, and is robust and cost-effective.